COLLECTION OF COSTUME JEWELRY ( buying costume jewelry )

Most wholesale fashion costume jewelry start with a chance encounter. An attractive bracelet catches your eye at a flea market. It costs very little, so you buy it for fun and end up wearing it constantly. Next, you see in an antique shop window a pair of antique costume jewelry earrings that matches your bracelet perfectly. These are 1940s Miriam Haskell originals, and the dealer shows you that your flea market find is signed by Haskell as well and was therefore a real bargain. By now, of course you're hooked! But how do you turn this spark into an organised, coherent collection?

At this stage you should actually stop buying costume jewelry and spend some time learning, looking and thinking. The worst mistakes are made when enthusiasm is keen but knowledge is still very sketchy. Restraint is difficult, but worth it. Your initial research should centre on books: reference and special studies of particular areas. Familiarise yourself with the look of various periods and designers, and make a list of those that appeal. This list might be wildly eclectic but there is nothing wrong with that, because part of the fun and excitement of collecting costume jewelry lies in its infinite variety. Every purchase can be an exercise of personal style and taste. Armed with a bit of information and at least some idea of what you want to focus on, your next step is to look — to visit every dealer, antique market or centre and museum you can find.

This gives you a chance to pinpoint the dealers whose taste most closely parallels your own. The best collections are formed through collaboration with a few favourite dealers, because they get to know you and what you are after. This relationship will prove particularly valuable if and when you reach the stage of trying to fill specific gaps in your collection, at which point a list can be given to your dealers who can look out for items for you. This sort of partnership is also vital for the repairs which become inevitable if you choose, as you should do, to wear your costume jewelry. There will always be flea markets, car-boot sales and one-off finds, but the cornerstone of a comprehensive collection is usually a dealer/customer relationship.